Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Eleven dead, 300 treated after drinking coconut wine in Philippines

At least 11 people have been killed and more than 300 treated in hospital after drinking coconut wine in the Philippines, including some who were celebrating at a Christmas party, health and local authorities said on Monday. The poisoning occurred in Laguna and Quezon, two provinces south of Manila, and all had consumed lambanog, a drink popular in provinces and consumed widely during holidays and celebrations. Unmarried Chinese woman sues hospital over refusal to freeze eggs

An unmarried Chinese woman filed a suit against a hospital on Monday for rejecting her request to undergo a medical procedure to freeze her eggs due to her marital status, in China's first legal challenge of a woman fighting for her reproductive rights. According to China's laws on human assisted reproduction, only married couples can use such health services, and they must be able to prove their marital status by showing a marriage license. Doctors and nurses in the UK not honored as often as other professions

People in the healthcare industry are less likely than those in sports and the arts to be awarded British honors like knighthoods and damehoods, a study suggests. British researchers sought to understand which fields are more likely to receive New Year's Honours, an annual national award given by the British monarch to recognize extraordinary contributions to UK society across different sectors. U.S. safety monitoring program for lifesaving devices may not be adequate

The system in place to monitor safety of medical devices in the United States may not catch failures soon enough to prevent serious harm to patients, a study suggests. Researchers examined data on a heart pacemaker that was eventually recalled by its maker and found that numerous people were harmed in the 19 months that passed after the first reported device failure, according to the study in JAMA Internal Medicine. FDA approves first generic of Bristol-Myers, Pfizer's blood thinner Eliquis

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it has approved the first generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co and Pfizer Inc's blood thinner Eliquis. The approval was granted to Micro Labs Ltd and Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc, the agency said. (https://reut.rs/2PRJPpE) Italian right-to-die activist acquitted of assisting suicide

A Milan court on Monday acquitted right-to-die activist Marco Cappato of aiding suicide, following a landmark constitutional court ruling which breached Italy's traditional rejection of helping suffering people to die. Marco Cappato, a member of Italy's small Radical party, accompanied a 40-year-old blind and tetraplegic Italian former disc jockey, Fabiano Antoniani, better known as DJ Fabo, to take his own life at a Swiss clinic in 2017. Roche dives deeper into gene therapy with $1.15 billion Sarepta licensing deal

Roche Holding AG made its second major gene therapy deal in a year on Monday, spending $1.15 billion to obtain the rights to Sarepta Therapeutics Inc's investigational drug to treat duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) outside the United States. The Swiss drugmaker closed a $4.3 billion deal to acquire Sparks Therapeutics this month, underscoring the growing appetite among large drugmakers for gene therapies. More HIV+ men know undetectable viral levels mean AIDS virus can't spread

A growing number of sexual minority men understand that HIV can't be transmitted by people with undetectable viral levels, but a new study suggests men living with HIV have a better grasp of the facts than men who don't have the virus. Researchers surveyed 111,747 men who don't identify as heterosexual about their sexual behaviors, condom use, drug use, HIV status and understanding of the HIV transmission risk. Overall, about 53% knew HIV could not be transmitted by individuals with undetectable viral levels - so little virus in their blood that it can't be found with lab tests. Allergan's acute migraine treatment wins U.S. FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it had approved Allergan Plc's drug for relieving migraine headaches after their onset. The drug, Ubrelvy, is the first oral version of a new class of drugs called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors to win the FDA's approval for treating the neurological disease. (http://bit.ly/2QeY1b7) Taking certain vitamins during breast cancer chemo tied to recurrence, death

Patients with breast cancer who use supplements during chemotherapy may be at an increased risk of recurrence and death, a new study suggests. Use of dietary supplements that boost levels of antioxidants, iron, vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids appeared to lower the effectiveness of chemotherapy, researchers report in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.